news

Cyberattack disrupts Mississippi student financial aid application processing 

The Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid is unable to process student applications and payments because of a cyberattack. It’s unclear when that issue will be resolved.

As data centers expand, advocates call for regulations on lights

A Missouri physics professor urges working with data centers to adopt outdoor lighting for the sake of the environment but something that would help them spend less while improving safety and security.

Hinds County jail officials deny he was beaten. In a lawsuit, former inmate says he was left unable to walk or talk

Deonte Shaw, a former Hinds County jail inmate, says in a federal lawsuit that he was severely beaten while in custody. The county denies it. His girlfriend spent weeks seeking answers about what happened. 

Proposed changes could gut Head Start, but Mississippi’s early education programs protect some children

The Trump administration wants to slash federal regulations for Head Start, an anti-poverty program that has long been considered a gold standard in early childhood education. Advocates say it could drastically impact about 18,000 children served by the program in Mississippi, while researchers say that Mississippi’s state-funded, high-quality early education programs protect some Head Start centers from the changes.

Lexington alderman found guilty of harassment and stalking at retrial

Lexington Alderman Charles Earl Simmons had his day in court after not appearing for an Aug. 5 bench trial. He was found guilty again of harassing and stalking a city deputy clerk.

US appeals court considers effort to restrict the most common abortion method

A panel of federal judges is considering Louisiana’s assertion that mifepristone, a key drug in the most common abortion method in the U.S., should not be dispensed anywhere but a medical facility.

Police chief calls Tasia Fortune’s death a homicide but says investigators are still awaiting autopsy report

Jackson police are calling the death of Tasia Fortune a homicide, but the city’s police chief says investigators still don’t have an autopsy report weeks after the woman was found hanging last month from a tree in west Jackson.

Crooked Letter Sports: First football weekend, first takes.

By and large, Mississippi’s college football teams had a successful first weekend and the Clevelands break it down game by game, with some high school football on the side.

Receiver in charge of turning around Jackson’s water system now says city should sell it

JXN Water supports the city selling its water and sewer assets. which it says will reduce the proposed rate increases of 10%, 9% and 8% from 2027 through 2029.

Laurene Powell Jobs and Darren Walker are keynote speakers for Mississippi Today 10th anniversary event

Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, and Darren Walker, president and CEO of Anonymous Content and former president of the Ford Foundation, will headline Mississippi Today’s 10th Anniversary Celebration on Oct. 7 in Jackson.